


Lighting Flares

by RollyPratt



Category: Life with Derek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Arranged Dating?, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, derek being derek, the usual back and forth hostility
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RollyPratt/pseuds/RollyPratt
Summary: They had known each other since they were kids, so the arrangement could easily look like a cute puppy love that grew into something serious over time. Regrettably, it was far from the truth. The only thing that grew over time was the animosity between them. But, that, nobody cared about.
Relationships: Casey McDonald/Derek Venturi
Comments: 11
Kudos: 25
Collections: Dasey Holiday Fic Exchange - 2020





	Lighting Flares

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Born2read](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Born2read/gifts).



> Born2read, baby, I'm sorry this is so late. And I'm sorry this is not finished. Clearly, I overestimated my ability to write one shots. A silver lining? A gift that will keep on giving? :3
> 
> I love you.

They had known each other since they were kids, so the arrangement could easily look like a cute puppy love that grew into something serious over time. Regrettably, it was far from the truth. The only thing that grew over time was the animosity between them. But, that, nobody cared about.

“Come on, miss Case,” Nora said, pulling a strand of hair out of Casey’s bun to rest on each side of her face. “He’s a charming and handsome boy, you could grow to like him if you give him a chance.”

“I gave him a chance, mom. Then he put frogs in my lunchbox.”

Nora barely suppressed her laughter and spoke through a tight smile, resting a comforting hand on Casey’s shoulder. “That was almost twenty years ago, sweetie. You can’t hold that against him for the rest of your life. Maybe you’d like to get to know the man he’s become.”

“A skirt chasing cad,” Casey muttered under her breath.

“That’s not really fair, Casey. I thought you didn’t listen to rumours.”

“It’s not rumours, mom. He went out with Emily, remember? He led her on and broke her heart!”

“Don’t you think Emily could have exaggerated, just a little bit?”

“Even so!” Casey sniffed, checking her make up one more time in the mirror. “He got what he wanted from her and then he didn’t call her back, like a typical self-serving male.”

Nora took a long deep breath, Casey could see her counting to ten in her head. “Even so, Casey, you know the engagement was made when you were fifteen. You can’t back out of it now.”

“An _arranged marriage_ , mom!” Casey whined. “Isn’t that a bit archaic? You can’t tell me you agree with this! It was dad and Derek’s dad that made this stupid deal. _Men_ \- deciding everything! Can’t I make my own decisions? Where’s my agency in all of this?”

“Well, if you were better at making your own decisions, you could have been married by now, wouldn’t you?” Nora gave her a pointed look in the mirror.

“Ouch,” Casey pouted. “That was way harsh, _mother_.”

Nora sighed and put her hands reassuringly on Casey’s shoulders. “I didn’t mean it like that, honey… but you have to admit, you haven’t had the best of luck finding someone on your own! Maybe you could give it a chance, it’s not like anyone is going to drag you down the aisle by force.”

“No, but dad will be-“ finger quotes “- _very disappointed_.”

“Yeah, well,” Nora’s hands gesticulated wildly in the air, “you know what this merger means to your father. And he wouldn’t agree to give your hand to a man who didn’t deserve you.”

“ _Give my hand_? Ugh, what are we, back in the 1500s?”

“It’s just one date, Casey. _Please_ give him a chance?” Casey opened her mouth to object, but Nora cut her off. “ _Another_ chance? Okay?”

Casey’s shoulders slumped. “Fine.”

“Who knows, maybe you’ll find that you have something in common.”

“I doubt it.”

* * *

“Hey,” he said, casually taking his seat in front of her and blowing a breath before burying his nose in the menu. “You order yet?”

Casey stared in disbelief.

“What?” he asked nonchalantly after a moment of silence, sparing her a glance over the menu card.

“You’re _twenty minutes late_.”

“Am I?” He frowned, checking his phone, then shrugged. “Huh.”

“ _Huh_?!” Casey echoed. “Are you taking this the least bit seriously or am I just wasting my time here?”

Rolling his eyes, Derek sat up straight in his chair, then leaned forward with his elbows on the table, earnestly meeting her eyes. “Fine, I’m sorry, alright?” He threw his hands in the air, “what else do I have to do? Kneel down and grovel?”

“Wow, not even two minutes, and you’re already unbelievably aggravating.”

“I have a good reason for being late.”

“Do you?”

“If you must know, I stopped on the way to help someone jumpstart their car.”

“How heroic of you.”

“I know.” He leaned back, an infuriating smile on his face. “I’m a guy for the people.”

Casey resisted rolling her eyes and crossed her arms. He looked good, she had to give him that. Well dressed, with a grey dinner jacket sitting perfectly on his shoulders. His hair was carefully combed, not obvious at first, but the messy effect was definitely calculated. After her minute inspection, she met his expectant gaze.

“So?”

Casey frowned. “So what?”

“Do I pass whatever checklist you went through in your mind just now?” His hand made circles in the direction of her head, like he was gesturing at a complex contraption he couldn’t explain.

“Pffft,” Casey scoffed, ”I don’t have a- a checklist, that’s absurd!” He stared, unimpressed. “Fine, you get most points for the outfit. But zero for the attitude.”

“We can work with that,” Derek said, scratching his eyebrow as his eyes flicked back up to her face after lingering to where she’d crossed her arms more tightly over her chest.

“And I haven’t ordered yet. I was waiting for you, because _I_ am polite.”

“My, my, such hostility. I don’t know if that’s a good foundation for a marriage, darling.”

“Please,” Casey said, taking her menu to give it a once over. “It’s obvious this isn’t going to work so we might as well just eat and get this over with.”

“And you were giving _me_ a hard time about not taking this seriously less than five minutes ago.”

“Well, five minutes ago, I still had -misplaced- hopes that I could stand you. But you proved me wrong!”

The waiter came by to take their order, interrupting Derek’s retort. He continued quickly, slightly subdued, once the waiter left.

“Okay, look, why don’t we start over? This is a lovely restaurant, you look lovely, so let’s have a lovely night.”

“Lovely,” Casey repeated sarcastically. “We don’t have to pretend. Dinner in silence is perfectly fine.”

He looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it, pursing his lips in thought as he observed her. Their drinks arrived a few minutes later, and Derek continued to look at her over the rim of his wine glass. Casey briefly wondered if he was going through a list of his own as he looked her up and down, a thoughtful look on his face.

They finished dinner in silence, catching each other’s gaze here and there, holding onto it as if the first one to look away had something to lose. When he started to smile at her was when she capitulated and looked away, the sight making her feel uncomfortable and her face weirdly warm. She must have been red all over. He didn’t comment on it.

He broke the silence first when they walked out to the parking lot. “Well, that was…”

“Lovely?” Casey filled in.

“Absolutely!” His grin was so wide it lit up his face, playful crinkles at the corner of his eyes and adorable dimples at the corners of his mouth. Oh, he was a heartbreaker for sure.

Wrenching her eyes away from him, she gestured towards her car. “This is me.”

She practically felt him shuffling next to her, dipping his hands into his jacket pockets. “What? No drinks? Tired of me already?”

She scoffed at his mocking tone, as if he could convince her that he was enjoying this anymore than she was. He raised his eyebrow expectantly at her. She sighed. “Listen, thanks for dinner, but we don’t have to drag this out longer than needed. We can tell our parents that we did it, and that it confirmed what we already knew. It was a bad idea.”

“Right.” He nodded, his gaze drifting off behind her at the end of the parking lot before shaking himself. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“So…”

“So…” He shuffled his feet some more, his whole demeanour more like an awkward teenager than the confident grown up he was supposed to be. It was surprisingly endearing. “Goodnight, I guess.”

Suddenly he was in her space, his hand warming her shoulder as he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. She hadn’t taken her eyes off of him. How had she not noticed him moving so close to her?

“See ya, Spacey,” he said, breaking through her daze. She looked up on time to see him walking away to his own car.

It took her several seconds to realize what he’d called her. “It’s Casey…” she managed, too late, hearing the car door slam behind him.

* * *

Recounting the tragic events of the date sadly did not deter her mother. Nora, bless her heart, was convinced that Casey just needed more time.

“I know you just had a difficult break up, honey, so this may seem a little rushed-“

“A _little_? Mom, you already set a date for the wedding. And I haven’t decided if I’ll marry the guy yet!”

She had. She had decided! No way was she marrying Derek Venturi, the bane of her childhood existence. Her mouth clearly wasn’t connected to her brain anymore.

“Casey, it’s hard to book a June wedding last minute.” Nora set back to continue cutting up vegetables.

“I don’t want a June wedding, mom!” Casey had always pictured a wedding in September, in the beginning of the fall when the colours turned dark reds and warm yellows, the smell of fallen leaves. She imagined Derek at the end of the aisle under the tent, soft wind blowing through his hair and the golden hues of his eyes accentuated by the autumn palette around them. She blinked. “I don’t want a wedding at all! Not to Derek, anyway.”

“I just think that maybe Derek isn’t the problem.”

Casey narrowed her eyes at her mother from her perch on the stool across the kitchen counter. “What do you mean?”

Nora looked up, a genuine but sad smile on her lips. “I think you’re scared of getting hurt again.”

It was like a gentle yet painful poke at a still fresh wound. Casey looked down, at her hands on the counter. “Can you blame me?”

“Of course not.” Nora put the knife down and walked around to Casey’s side. She pushed a strand of her daughter’s hair behind her ear. “I’m just worried you’ll let what happened with Truman keep you from some great things in your life.”

“And Derek is one of those things?”

“He could be.”

Hardly convinced but feeling her resolution waiver, Casey looked up at her mother who watched her fondly. Nora was trying to make the best of the situation, and she seemed to have a completely misguided opinion of Derek, but it was clear that she was worried about her. How could Casey say no to her mother? “I bet there’s no way to get out of it anyway.”

Nora winced visibly. “Your dad already volunteered you to be Derek’s plus one for the event. You’re both on the list of expected guests.”

Really, Casey knew her mother was stuck with the short end of the stick. While her father was out making plans for everyone else’s lives, Nora had to be in the front lines and keep the peace.

“Just like I thought.”

* * *

“What were they thinking? Was it not enough to set us up on a disastrous date, now we have to be seen together at the charity event both of our dads are too busy to attend?”

Derek’s hand was rigid on the small of her back as he walked her through the crowd. “You could have just said _no_?” He said crisply, obviously over all of her whining. “Anyway, it wasn’t their idea. It was my idea.”

“What?”

He was looking everywhere but at her. “I needed a respectable date, and since you’re the most uptight person I know, I thought you’d be perfect for the role.”

“If that was supposed to be a compliment, it still needs some work.”

“Trust me, it wasn’t.”

“Wow, you know how to make a date feel real special.”

“Yeah, well, so do you.” He sounded really irritated. _He_ was irritated? _The nerve_!

“Excuse me?” She stopped in the middle of the room. Derek palmed his face in exasperation. “I find out that I was forced to come here at _your_ request and you expect me to act grateful? Should I be flattered?”

“Wait- wait. Forced? I didn’t-“ Derek stopped, pinched the bridge of his nose, and groaned. “ _Dad.”_

Casey scoffed, as if she would fall for his act. Just another man trying to control her life and using her for their own gains and benefits. If someone _once_ thought about _her_ best interests first…

“Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

Derek was already retreating to the entrance. She caught up to him quickly. “What?”

“I didn’t know they _made_ you do this. You think I need to coerce girls into going out with me?”

“We can’t leave now, it’ll look like-“ She stopped herself before saying something truly embarrassing. What if people saw them leaving and thought they were going to...

He turned to look at her, exasperated. “Look like what?”

“Nothing.”

He pushed the button for the elevator.

“It won’t look like anything. I’m coming right back. I have to be here. You don’t.”

“I don’t mind staying.”

“Really? Cuz you’ve been talking my ear off about how much you _didn’t_ want to be here.”

“Well, I changed my mind.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

“Jesus fuck. And you say _I’m_ insufferable.”

“Yeah, well,” Casey grasped at straws. “You put frogs in my lunch box!”

After a second of frozen astonishment, Derek chuckled. “You’re still mad about that?”

“You never apologized.”

The sound he made next could only be described as _a giggle_. He looked up at her through thick eyelashes with a dumbfounded smile on his face. “I guess I must apologize then.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin up expectantly while trying hard not to blush. There was something about him, maybe it was how sweet he looked while being completely devious, that completely enthralled her. If she didn’t know better, she could fall for him.

The elevator door dinged open behind him.

“I’m sorry,” he said, taking a step towards her and reaching for her hand. “For putting frogs in your lunch when I was ten years old.”

The door closed.

“What can I do,” he continued, “to make it up to you?”

“Um.”

The door dinged open again, startling both of them. They glared at it until it closed.

“Ahum,” Casey coughed, “maybe a-a dance?”

“A dance it is!” He grinned and pulled on her hand to guide her back into the ballroom. As they took their spot on the dancefloor, the lively music conveniently switched to a slow song. Derek looked around awkwardly. “Um, we can wait for the next one-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Casey reassured too quickly. “Th-this is fine.”

He met her eyes and silently pulled her closer, his arm snaking around her back. Her free hand grabbed his shoulder.

“So, am I forgiven?” Derek said quietly. They didn’t break eye contact as they swayed.

“I guess so.” He raised an eyebrow, dissatisfied with the answer. Her hand squeezed his shoulder tighter. “Yes.”

He nodded. “Good.”

* * *

He drove her home at the end of the night, dropping her off in front of her building.

“Well,” Derek started slowly, “now that I’m forgiven maybe we can… you know, start being friends.”

Casey chuckled. "Just because I forgave your third grade prank doesn’t mean we can be friends.”

“Why not?”

She paused, noting that while he had a small smile on his face, he looked completely serious.

“You’re still insufferable,” Casey said with less conviction than she wanted.

“Oh, come on.” He rolled his eyes. “How am I insufferable?”

“You’re an arrogant jerk, for one.”

“Mhm.” He tapped the steering wheel absentmindedly. “I like to think I’m confident.”

Scrambling for a reason once again, Casey sat up straight, spewing the first thing that came to mind. “And you don’t take anything seriously.”

“Really.” He looked more amused by the minute. “If I didn’t take anything seriously, you think I would be here?”

That gave Casey pause, because there really wasn’t a reason for him to be here than to appease his father. But she liked arguing with him, so she wasn’t giving him points that easily. “Showing up at one event doesn’t make you reliable.”

Derek’s features softened as he leaned closer, and Casey didn’t know what to do with that. “It’s not just one event though, is it?”

“What else?”

“You think I let my dad set me up with you because I was desperate for a date?”

She shrugged uncomfortably. “Being forced into a date with me-”

“I wasn’t forced into anything.”

Well, that would be nice… if it was mutual.

“Lucky you.”

He chuckled darkly and leaned back into his seat, facing forward. “Yeah, well. Maybe you’re right. This being friends thing was a stupid idea.”

“Glad you see things my way,” she said quietly, clutching her purse into her lap.

The silence that followed was heavy until Derek heaved a long suffering sigh. “Has it occurred to you that this whole thing would be much easier if we at least tried to get along?”

“No!” she shouted automatically.

He groaned and started the car. “Fine.”

After a minute, Casey gave up. “Okay, maybe.”

She saw Derek watching her from the corner of her eye, hesitating before turning off the car again. “Look, I’m just suggesting we go along with it for a while.”

“Just long enough for our families to get off our backs until everything is signed and done?”

“Exactly.” He grinned proudly, like it was the best plan anyone ever came up with. Casey sighed, forcing back the smile that wanted to form in response to his.

“Okay.” She reached for the door handle, stopping abruptly when she felt his hand on her arm.

“And hey, you might eventually open your mind to what an awesome guy I am.”

“Keep dreaming,” Casey said, and exited the car, rubbing the spot on her arm still tickling from his touch.


End file.
